Red "Texas Star" Morning?

   I am one of those odd people who finds beauty in most everything around the Bayou.  For a while, it seemed as if the whole world had gone to pot and it was extremely hard to "look on the bright side".  Then, it came to me that dire outlook had to change and it was entirely up to me to change it.  So...I started finding beauty in the most mundane things just to prove to myself that whatever happens outside of my realm of the Bayou, it is not my concern.  Only what is here should be of importance since I cannot change the world but I can change myself.  Now, I make a point of seeking out what others deem as "everyday" blah and I search for happiness.  It is there.

  For instance, the other morning, there was an amazing sunrise.  While most folks will admit to the wonders of the sunlit horizon (if they are awake at that early time), not many seek how the red sky has an effect on other things.  In the garden there is a shepherd's hook that holds windchimes.  Mark brought this home from a tractor place several years ago and it has been quite useful.  I am not sure why he chose to bring a star (which looks mightily like the "Texas Star" emblem to me) but it fits right in with the mishmash of other oddities around the place.  I had just come up from the pier and plopped down on the front steps to retie my shoe when I noticed the star.  Wow!  The red sky was an amazing backdrop for the blackness of the still night shaded garden and the star!  That is lovely, I thought and had to photograph it!

  Ok, so now you get the idea of how I have rerouted my thoughts to find a bit of joy wherever it is dropped.  A purple wildflower, a dew bedecked spiderweb, a bright green treefrog or even a star lit by a rosy sunrise, there is always something worth my focus.  Folks, life is good regardless of what the outside world is doing.  People are people and will never come to terms with "how life is treating them" so I say..."Change the way you feel and find your own happiness wherever it is.  Life will only "treat" you as you treat it."  Be happy.

The "Staff of Green" On My Table

   When going back to the idea of finding weird things in photographs, I suppose it is all in how you look at things.  I have often said that a lot of people look but just do not see.  Sometimes, I am just the opposite.  I see even when I do not look.  Make sense?  Nah, if you are not a person with a weird sense of understanding, that will be just a garbled bunch of words without much meaning.  To me, however, in my feeble brain, it is all perfectly clear.  There are things that can be seen from a different perspective...so, it is all in how you look at things. I choose to be delighted in the simple mystery behind a lot of this thing we call life.  

  As I stumbled into the kitchen this morning to make that pot of "wakeup" called coffee, one of those pondering moments hit me.  I had flipped on the light and immediately saw an unusual sort of "staff".  There it was in bright lime green on the kitchen table.  It reminded me of a misshapen trident.  It had four prongs so could not be an actual trident.  Poseidon would have freaked had his trident been portrayed as such!  Funny thing...I never noticed it before.  It was there unmistakably clear and bright green. The stove light had passed through a bottle of cleanser that I had left on the table the night before.  Somehow, the angle of the light made a most unique image to be cast upon the table.  

  My pondering moment was not why the "staff" was there but rather why I suddenly saw it.  Why did I not see it last night?  How could I miss seeing something so vividly produced?  The image kept me enthralled through my entire first mug of coffee.  I looked at it from different angles thinking perhaps I needed to be in a certain spot to view it.  Nope...it was there from all angles.  I figure I need to just start noticing more things.  Pop would have claimed "Had it been a snake, you would have already been bitten."  It is a good thing he taught me to smell snakes far before I could see them!  Maybe the image just became viewable so I could have a good "thinking" early this morning.  All things happen for a reason.

Hornets, Whales and Bonsai Crepe Myrtles!

   It seems that 2020 has been a topsy-turvy sort of year and we are not finished with it yet.  What else is to come?   Any day now, I half expect to see Godzilla come sloshing up out of the Bayou.  Trust me...that would be no surprise after what this year has thrown at us.  In fact, I was reading a few oddities that have occurred and I am still astounded.  Have you heard about the whale in the rain forest?  Come now.  Does that seem normal?  Viruses, hornets...bah!  But a whale in the rain forest?  Seriously?  Yep, seriously.  It was all over the news about the dreaded Murder Hornets but I am more concerned about that whale!

  Now my oddity is nothing compared to the earth-shaking things the media is trying to shove down our throats but, when you have been confined to the Small Gardens for more than a month, things are exciting.  My garden "claim to fame" is...wait for it...a crepe myrtle tree!  Yay!!!  Oooh!  Ahhh!  Ok, enough of that.  But, indeed, I was totally engrossed by such a tree this morning and spent a good ten minutes weeding around it.  You see, I have never seen a baby crepe myrtle tree bloom!  Yep, THAT is something that should be news worthy!  "Breaking news!  Climate changes have started creating miniature versions of trees that are blooming all across the South!  We are thinking these trees are harbingers of bad times to come as the trees will spread like wildfire!  They will kill off all food supplies and, worse yet, will steal toilet tissue causing massive shortages!"  Sound about right?  Yeah, well, this is exactly why I do not have a TV in the house.  

  But I do have four inch tall crepe myrtle trees blooming in the front yard.They are like cute, little wild bonsai trees!   Obviously, I neglected to cut back the spent blooms of the large trees last year and the seeds were viable.  Tiny crepe myrtle trees are everywhere and all are blooming!  They are so adorable! 

  Well, that is my all important news flash for today.  Other than that, all is quiet on the Bayou.  We are at peace here.  I do, however, have so many questions about that whale.  Why?  How?  What on earth was it thinking to go there?? What was it seeking?  Did a bird drop it?  If so, I want to see that bird!  Which opens another can of worms!  

Magical Mornings

  There is magic to be found in just about everything.  Life in itself is magical.  It is my thought that magic is anything that is unexplained or unexpected.  I have learned a long time ago that you cannot go about life fretting what others think as it is up to you to make life magical.  I live that way now.  Each day proves that my idea is correct.

  At daybreak this morning, I ventured out into the gardens.  The air smelled fresh due to the recent rains and the ground was still wet enough to muffle any footsteps.  The pair of cardinals were patiently waiting for breakfast and the frogs were still in the midst of their serenading of the night before.  It seemed to be a perfect morning and that all was right with the world...at least, it is all right in my little paradise.  Just outside the garden gate, the Althea bush had lovely blooms that were opening with the rising sun.  Their bright lavender petals and burgundy centers were absolutely breathtaking.  These blooms have always been special as the bush has "family ties".  It started as a cutting from my grandparent's place.  I eased my way to inspect the blooms and, to my surprise, found a dragonfly wing inside of one blossom.  Well, that was strange!  Of course, there was probably an ordinary explanation but finding the wing placed so perfectly inside the petal made it magical to me.

  Had Aunt Helen been on this stroll with me, she and I would have immediately proclaimed that a faerie had gotten new wings and left the old one as proof of her existence.  Maybe?  When Aunt Helen was alive, she and I could let our imaginations run amok.  Fantastical tales could be woven on a mere find as the one this morning.  

  Folks, sometimes it is important to let go of the worries of the world and find your own magic. It is out there.  Look for it.  Perhaps the "magic" was not in finding a dragonfly wing nor the lovely Althea bloom.  Perhaps it was in being free enough in my own mind to view it as such.  Finding beauty in mundane things is a gift.  Finding magic in everything is, too.

Be a Little Funky-Weird!

  You know, sometimes you just have to get a little (or a lot, in my case) funky-weird and not fret over what others think.  I have long been this way and, well, I as happy as a centipede in a rotten cantaloupe.  And, trust me on this, centipedes love their rotten cantaloupes!  As for worrying what others think?  Who cares?  I have lived long enough not to give a plug nickel about others' opinions of me.  I do what I want to do and feel as free as a bird.

  This morning, I awoke to no sunrise.  In fact, there was a torrential downpour happening complete with thunder, lightning and wind.  It is amazing how invigorating a good storm is!  But it was yesterday's rising that was rather unique.  After another nigh on sleepless night due to the old dog's yelping in pain and many trips to go out on walks with him in the middle of the night, I had no energy to hike to the pier.  The sunrise would have to be viewed from indoors.  I rolled over and was fully entranced by the sunlight coming through the windows.  Even though thick canvas curtains blocked out the full sunrise, the effect was pretty intriguing. 

  Behind that thick canvas curtain hangs dozens of crystals.  Had the curtain been open, the sunbeams would have had rainbows bouncing about the walls but, alas, the curtain was closed.  The silhouettes of the crystals were impressive enough but the fact that the crystals were still able to push a few tiny irises through the canvas showed determination (if, indeed, inanimate objects could have determination!).  It was that determination that kicked me out of bed with a renewed sense of being.  I figured its not what you see on the horizon that makes your day but how you look at what is in front of you.  

  Just like the sunrises when viewed from the pier, the silhouettes inspired me.  I had things to do! I had things to see!  I had to be a little bit funky-weird!  So, I jumped out of bed and decided today was the day that I would start my costume for the Sixth Annual Clue Hunt on the Bayou!!  With the theme of a masquerade ball, this should be fun for all!  Time to get that ballgown sewn!  And, yes, it will be a bit funky-weird!